THERE was a run fest in the second round of the Spenser Wilson Halifax League's Parish Cup.

A total of 3,553 runs were scored in the sunshine at eight ties – an average of 222 per innings!

But there were no real shocks, despite league leaders Thornton going down by 108 runs at home to Mytholmroyd.

John Earle (159) was the centurion for Mytholmroyd, who made 377-5.

Only the Hutchinsons, Joshua (136) and Nikki (41), showed any sign of form in the second innings after Thornton’s top four batsmen had disappeared back for a miserly 35 runs between them.

Oxenhope’s No 5 Joseph Ousey (114) was the star of the show at The Flatt as the home team rattled up a formidable 348-8 against Stones, with Eddie Burke making 48, Duncan Tetley 44 not out and Lewis Hopkinson 41.

That was far too much for a young team.

Although most batsmen contributed, no-one stayed long enough to affect the 193-run home win.

It took 44 overs for Shelf Northowram Hedge Top to overall visiting Blackley’s 259-3, of which opener Dominic Walsh scored 101 not out.

Blackley were in with a chance all afternoon as, in reply, Hedge Top lost wickets at regular intervals but were finally thwarted by the last pair, who added nine runs for a very tight victory after opener Razwan Saghir had made 52.

Needless to say the bowlers had it tough and, with the nine-over restriction also applying, only Moazzam Ayub (4-59) of Booth and Mytholmroyd’s Zahid Mahmood (4-66) managed to take four wickets.

Conversely there were six centurions, plus Ben Watkins (91no) being nine short of his ton as the winning run was hit at Sowerby St Peter’s.

Booth had an easy win at home to Copley, where Rob Laycock (114no) and Jon Midgley (102) enjoyed a 123-run partnership, followed by one of 169 between Laycock and Hasnain Wajid (82).

The visitors were never in the hunt, falling 233 runs short.

At Leymoor it was a case of Warley proving the divisional gap, winning by eight wickets after bowling the hosts out for 132, followed by Matthew Whitworth (70no) sealing the tie.

There was a tight finish at Walton Street, where the hosts lost by two runs, failing to overhaul Southowram’s 209.

Ian Hall (51) top-scored for the Rams, supported by some steady batting by most of his team.

It was a similar picture for the Bridge as Tim Helliwell (66) led the response, but when the crunch came the visitors grabbed that vital last wicket with two runs to spare.

There was a very different outcome up the road at St Peter’s Avenue as Sowerby cruised into the third round with a ten-wicket win over Outlane.

The lower-division team were bowled out for 158, and thereafter opener Watkins did not hang around as he plundered his runs to seal the win in the 24th over, ably assisted by Adam Clarke’s 67 not out.

At Grassy Bottom, Triangle, at one stage, were in trouble against Bridgeholme when the scoreboard read 56-5 but they was rescued by lower-order batsmen Michael Midwood (56) and Jack Gledhill (40) to post a relatively low score of only 184.

The visitors' innings followed a similar pattern, however, as 44-5 showed on the scoreboard.

The rescue act in this innings came from the bat of Mohammed Basharat (72).

Once he departed at 145-9, it looked all over but a brave effort from last pair Javid Iqbal (27) and Aqib Mahmood (0no) was eventually ended by Gledhill 13 runs short.